Making Sense of Tensions and Equivocalities in Digital Transformation

Digital transformation is a process in which digital technologies play a central role in creating and reinforcing disruptions. Although considerable research has been devoted to potential strategic responses to these disruptions, only limited attention has been paid to the equivocalities that persistently disrupt the digital transformation process. In this paper, we present the results of a three-year longitudinal single-case study on a digital transformation program as it was implemented and revised in a public infrastructure agency. We uncovered three major categories of equivocality – scope, needs, and priorities – that the organization needed to overcome to develop new digital tools and standards. We also revealed that entangled paradoxical tensions explain why such equivocalities emerged. By relating tensions and equivocalities, we contribute to further understanding why change is incremental and sensemaking is slow in digital transformation journeys of public infrastructure agencies.